Karaethon Cycle
The Karaethon Cycle contains the Prophecies of the Dragon, which are believed to detail how the Dragon will be Reborn and what his coming will mean for both the Light and the Shadow. They consist of a collection of Foretellings from before, during, and after the War of Power. Many are vague and can only be understood in hindsight. Most people avoid them, and they are banned in many lands. }} }} The Karaethon Cycle: The Prophecies of the Dragon And it shall come to pass that what men made shall be shattered, and the Shadow shall lie across the Pattern of the Age, and the Dark One shall once more lay his hand upon the world of man. Women shall weep and men quail as the nations of the earth are rent like rotting cloth. Neither shall anything stand or abide... The Shadow shall rise across the world, and darken every land, even to the smallest corner, and there shall be neither Light nor safety. And he who shall be born of the Dawn , born of the Maiden, according to Prophecy, he shall stretch forth his hands to catch the Shadow, and the world shall scream in the pain of salvation. All Glory be to the Creator, and to the Light, and to he who shall be born again. May the Light save us from him. Yet one shall be born to face the Shadow, born once more as he was born before, and shall be born again, time without end. The Dragon shall be Reborn, and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth at his rebirth. In sackcloth and ashes shall he clothe the people, and he shall break the world again by his coming, tearing apart all ties that bind. Like the unfettered dawn shall he blind us, and burn us, yet shall the Dragon Reborn confront the Shadow at the Last Battle, and his blood shall give us the Light. Let tears flow, O ye people of the world. Weep for your salvation. On the slopes of Dragonmount shall he be born, born of a maiden wedded to no man. . He will be of the ancient blood, and raised by the old blood. When the winds of Tarmon Gai'don scour the earth, he will face the Shadow and bring forth Light again in the world. }} For he shall come like the breaking dawn, and shatter the world again with his coming, and make it anew. Twice and twice shall he be marked , twice to live, and twice to die. Once the heron, to set his path. Twice the heron, to name him true. After his victory, the fight leaves another heron seared into the other hand. }} Once the Dragon, for remembrance lost. Twice the Dragon, for the price he must pay. }} Five ride forth, and four return. Above the Watchers Over the Waves shall he proclaim himself, bannered 'cross the sky in fire. The Stone of Tear will never fall, till Callandor is wielded by the Dragon’s hand. The Stone of Tear will never fall, till the People of the Dragon come. Into the heart he thrusts his sword, into the heart, to hold their hearts. who draws it out shall follow after, What hand can grasp that fearful blade? Power of the Shadow made human flesh wakened to turmoil, strife and ruin. The Reborn One, marked and bleeding, dances the sword in dreams and mist, chains the Shadowsworn to his will, from the city, lost and forsaken, leads the spears to war once more, breaks the spears and makes them see, truth long hidden in the ancient dream. He shall slay his people with the sword of peace, and destroy them with the leaf. With his coming are the dread fires born again. The hills burn, and the land turns sere. The tides of men run out, and the hours dwindle. The wall is pierced, and the veil of parting raised. Storms rumble beyond the horizon, and the fires of heaven purge the earth. There is no salvation without destruction, no hope this side of death. ).}} The unstained tower, broken, bends knee to the forgotten sign. The seas rage, and stormclouds gather unseen. Beyond the horizon, hidden fires swell, and serpents nestle in the bosom. What was exalted is cast down; what was cast down is raised up. Order burns to clear his path. There can be no health in us, nor any good thing grow, for the land is one with the Dragon Reborn, and he is one with the land. Soul of fire, heart of stone, in pride he conquers, forcing the proud to yield. He calls upon the mountains to kneel, and the seas to give way, and the very skies to bow. Pray that the heart of stone remembers tears, and the soul of fire, love. and .}} As the plow breaks the earth shall he break the lives of men, and all that was shall be consumed in the fire of his eyes. The trumpets of war shall sound at his footsteps, the ravens feed at his voice, and he shall wear a crown of swords. Master of the lightnings, rider on the storm, wearer of a crown of swords, spinner out of fate. Who thinks he turns the Wheel of Time, may learn the truth too late. - From a fragmentary translation attributed to Lord Mangore Kiramin, Sword-bard of Aramaelle and Warder to Caraighan Maconar, into what was then called the vulgar tongue, circa .}} The Seals that hold back the night shall weaken, and in the heart of winter shall winter’s heart be born, amid the wailings of lamentation and the gnashing of teeth, for winter’s heart shall ride a black horse, and the name of it is Death. And it shall come to pass, in the days when the Dark Hunt rides, when the right hand falters and the left hand strays, that mankind shall come to the Crossroads of Twilight, and all that is, all that was, and all that will be shall balance on the point of a sword, while the winds of the Shadow grow. - From the translation believed done by Jain Charin, known as Jain Farstrider, shortly before his disappearance.}} He shall heal the wounds of madness and cutting of hope. He shall hold a blade of light in his hands, and the three shall be one. He shall bind the nine moons to serve him. The north shall he tie to the east, and the west shall be bound to the south. Twice dawns the day when his blood is shed.In AMoL it is referenced that the third age ends and the fourth age began at noon referencing a death and birth during the final battle. Once for mourning, once for birth. Red on black, the Dragon’s blood stains the rock of Shayol Ghul. In the Pit of Doom shall his blood free men from the Shadow. His blood on the rocks of Shayol Ghul, washing away the Shadow, sacrifice for man’s salvation. He shall break chains and put others into chains. Fortune rides like the sun on high with the fox that makes the ravens fly. Luck his soul, the lightning his eye, He snatches the moons from out of the sky. When the Wolf King carries the hammer, thus are the final days known. When the Fox marries the raven, and the trumpets of battle are blown. Commentaries Several books have been written about the Karaethon Cycle and the Prophecies of the Dragon. Commentary on the Dragon, by Sajius is one such book. Some of these works may have been written in the style of prophecy themselves, with the authors incorporating their interpretations into the translations. , the Third Age. }} , the Third Age. }} Statements about the Prophecies These are statements describing the contents of the prophecies, not quoting them. "When the Dragon is Reborn he will break all oaths, shatter all ties." - Paraphrased by Uno Nomesta}} "And prophecy said the Horn of Valere would only be found just in time for the Last Battle." - Paraphrased by Siuan Sanche}} The Karaethon Cycle does not mention the Horn of Valere, except that it must be found before the Last Battle. Other Prophecies concerning the Dragon Reborn *Prophecy of Rhuidean *Jendai Prophecies *Arafel Prophecy *Prophecies of the Shadow *Essanik Cycle es:Ciclo Karaethon Category:Prophecies Category:Books Category:Foretellings